The Contracts for Innovation (CfI): Earlier identification of UK children with SEN funding competition supports organisations in developing innovations that enable earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of special educational needs (SEN) in contexts where existing market solutions underperform or do not operate. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will invest up to £2.5 million from the UKRI R&D MAP Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity Mission in this procurement competition.

Overview

This phase 1 competition aims to develop innovations that enable earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of special educational needs (SEN) in contexts where existing market solutions underperform or do not operate. The competition has a UK-wide remit, with the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and Additional Support Needs (ASN) terms used in Wales and Scotland being within the definition of “SEN” used in this brief. Projects should focus on developing, testing and rolling out innovations to enable the earlier identification of children and young people with SEN, and for strengths and needs assessment, that can be integrated into education settings.

This is phase 1 of a potential 3 phase competition. The decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1 and assessment of a separate application into a subsequent phase 2 competition. Only the successful applicants from phase 1 will be invited to apply to take part in phase 2.

Funding and Benefits

Total funding: Up to £2.5 million inclusive of VAT has been allocated to fund innovation projects for this phase 1 feasibility study research and development (R&D) competition.

Project size: Phase 1 projects can range in size up to total eligible costs of £500k, inclusive of VAT.

Contract value: Contracts will be up to £500k, inclusive of VAT, for each project for up to 12 months. We expect to fund up to 12 projects.

Funding type: Funding will be in the form of a contract.

R&D requirement: Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service.

VAT: You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your eligible project costs. If you are VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT. If you are not VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added.

Eligibility

Who can apply: To lead a project, you can be an organisation of any size, including those based in the EU, EEA or internationally. You may work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups).

Project requirements:

• Start by 1 October 2026
• End by 30 September 2027
• Last up to 12 months
• Have total costs of between £200k and £500k, inclusive of VAT

Projects must always start on the first of the month, even if this is a non-working day. You must not start your project until your Contract has been approved by Innovate UK.

Sanctions: This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from Innovate UK to UK Sanctions.

Use of animals in research: Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation.

Research Areas and Activities

The aim of this competition is to develop innovations that enable earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of special educational needs (SEN) in contexts where existing market solutions underperform or do not operate. We are seeking projects that are developing solutions with a credible route to real world adoption and impact, which will enable one or both of:

• Earlier and more accurate identification of children and young people in the UK who have, or are likely to have, SEN
• Consistent, high quality assessment of each child’s individual strengths and needs

This could include, but is not limited to, projects that:

• Develop tools designed for deployment by frontline services, especially at universal review points
• Enable identification of children’s needs at the earliest stages of life, particularly prior to entry into formal education
• Refine and test high potential approaches to ensure they are ready to be scaled at pace across national education systems
• Mitigate current inconsistencies in SEN identification or assessment across different local authorities and educational settings
• Develop innovations based on the predictive value of prematurity indicators or early speech and language assessments
• Use health data or operate in health settings, with a clear link to education

Application Process

How to apply: Applications must be submitted through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). When you start an application, you will be prompted to create an account as the lead applicant or sign in as a representative of your organisation.

Application sections: The application is split into four sections: Project details, Application questions, Finances, and Project Impact.

Key application questions:

• Question 6: Proposed idea or technology – How does the project meet the challenge described in the competition scope?
• Question 7: Technical project summary – What are the main technical challenges you are addressing?
• Question 8: Current state of the art and intellectual property
• Question 9: Project plan and methodology
• Question 10: Technical team and expertise
• Question 11: Costs and value for money
• Question 12: Commercial potential

Assessment: Your application will be reviewed by three independent assessors based on the content of your application and their skills or expertise relevant to your project.

Deadline and Timeline

Competition opens: Tuesday 23 June 2026

Competition closes: Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 11:00am UK time

Online briefing event: 29 June 2026 at 2pm – register to attend

Feedback: 8 September 2026

Applicants notified: 8 September 2026

Project start: From 1 October 2026

Contract award date: 1 October 2026

Contact Information

Innovate UK: Call 0300 321 4357. Phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Email: For questions about the scope requirements of this competition, email OpportunityMission@ukri.org. For more information about how to apply, email support@iuk.ukri.org.

Accessibility: We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place.